1. According to Euro News, violent thunderstorms and torrential rains have caused chaos across southern Europe. In Italy, much of the Sicilian city of Ca-ta-nia was turned into a raging river with strong waters carrying away vehicles. The situation was worse in Greece where one woman died and dozens of commuters were trapped in their cars after a torrential downpour swamped the capital city of Athens. Power outages darkened large parts of the city, a river broke its banks and traffic jams brought much of Athens to a standstill. Weather reports said that "this is the worst storm since 1961."

2. According to Reuters, Iran has begun installing advanced centrifuges at its main uranium enrichment plant, a defiant step that worries Western powers ahead of a resumption of talks with Tehran this week. In a confidential report, the IAEA said 180 centrifuges and empty centrifuge casings had been put in place at the facility near the town of Natanz in central Iran. If launched successfully, such machines could enable Iran to significantly speed up its accumulation of material that the West fears will be used to devise a nuclear weapon.

3. According to The Christian Post, Sa-eed A-be-di-ni, the American pastor serving an 8-year prison sentence in Iran, is being pressured by his captors into converting back to Islam, but he says that that will never happen...